A year after losing her husband, high school sweetheart and the love of her life to cancer, Janie Anderson embarks on a once-in-a-lifetime trip to New York City. Trying to escape the oppressive loss and hopelessness of a life without him, Janie sets off on an adventure she has dreamed about since she was a little girl, exploring the Big Apple, New York City, secretly hoping that this landmark event will free her from her grief and unlock a future as wonderful as the life she had lost with Robert’s passing. At 42, she is much too young to spend the rest of her days as a lonely widow, but is resolved to the fact that lightning and a love like theirs rarely strikes twice. Janie knows it is time to move on to a future of possibilities as big, as vast, as unlimited as New York City.But after a series of embarrassing encounters with a man in a dark grey suit during the flight Janie wonders if this trip might be more than she bargained for. When he asks her to dinner and she has a wonderful time, she realizes she is definitely attracted to him and she is terrified. The handsome and wealthy Matt Lathem is sexy as hell, but as Janie comes to realize, has his own grief he is hiding. Can they help to heal each other and realize in time that a second chance is within their grasp?‘First Class to New York’ is a contemporary, adult romance novel, written by AJ Harmon. It is the first book in the ‘First Class’ series with Matt and Janie’s story continuing in ‘First Class to Portland’.

Dying to know more? Check out this interview I did with author A.J. Harmon!

Tell us a little about yourself!

I am a mother of two. My children are grown and off living fabulous lives that have made me extremely proud of them. My best friend is my husband, Brad, of 29 years and we have a pound puppy named Max. We live in the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon and just love the majestic beauty here. I would love to one day compete on Chopped (Food Network) and if I couldn’t be a writer I’d want to be a chef.

How and/or when did you discover your love of writing?

I have loved to read since I was a child, but didn’t write stories much. It wasn’t until my girlfriend challenged me to write a book that I really discovered for my love of creating characters and plotlines.

Give us the details on your book!

First Class to New York is about a woman named Janie who’s lost her husband to cancer. Her twin sons have left for college and she is left to make a choice; shrivel up and die in grief and solitude, or start over. So she takes the trip that she’s wanted to go on for years – 2 weeks in New York City. In the airport she literally stumbles into a man that will change her future… if she allows him to get close.

This book is about those two weeks and yes, it ends with a cliffhanger!

What do you love most about your main characters?

Janie is a little older – 42 – and insecure about her body, her hair, etc. She doesn’t think of herself as anything special and I think that every woman can relate to her in some way. Matt is handsome and rich and smooth, but he comes with some baggage that he has to work through and Janie is the one who can get him to open up.

What’s your favorite book of all time?

Tough question, but it would have to be Persuasion by Jane Austen. Pride & Prejudice would be a very close second.

If you could give aspiring authors one piece of advice, what would it be?

Write the damn book! I know several wannabe writers who say that their book is “nearly finished” and that doesn’t do any good! Get it written.

And for the final, most important question:

Coke or Pepsi?

COKE!!!!!

About the Author:

An Aussie, born and bred, AJ currently resides in the USA and calls the Pacific Northwest home. She and her husband are empty nesters, their two children off living exciting lives of their own. Challenged by a friend to write a novel, she began her writing career in 2012 and after publishing her first novel, First Class to New York, she hasn’t looked back.Reading romance novels is a passion she’d had since a young girl, cutting her teeth on Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters. Her scope of genres has broadened and reads anything with a great love story. Now writing love stories has given her a far greater appreciation for all authors and her tablet is full of books from many genres she looks forward to reading.“I love to create characters with heart and soul and are relatable to the reader, primarily women,” AJ said. “A little older, a LOT wiser, and with real life experience behind them that gives the characters depth.”AJ has completed one series, First Class Novels, which has nine novels and bonus novella available only in the boxed set. On her new series, Sky Romance Novels, AJ said: “I loved writing about the Lathem boys, but Sky Romance Novels doesn’t tie my hands at all. I can write about whoever and wherever I want. It’s really fun!”Harmon is also working on a stand-alone novel, He’s No Saint, which will be available in the summer of 2014.